Plants, Problem-Solving, and Personality Traits!

The final week of the first quarter is upon us!  We've come far in the first 10 weeks and we will continue to work hard and think critically!  Here is what is happening in Room 25 this week:

Science
This week we continue with our classification of living things.  Monday and Tuesday we will observe and read about different types of plants (vascular and non vascular) and begin observing animals and their characteristics and classifications (vertebrates and invertebrates).  Our animal observations will be with Darkling Beetles; where we will observe and collect data regarding their life cycle and physical characteristics.  This should be lots of fun!

Math
Your students will be bringing home a multiplication strategy quiz on Monday or Tuesday that was taken last Friday.  Chapter 3 has focused primarily on different 2-digit multiplication strategies in order to solve computation problems.  This we will focus on multi-step word problems so that these strategies can be used in real-world situations.  We will work on this on Tuesday and Wednesday, and end the week with the Chapter 3 test on either Thursday or Friday (dependent on the progress we make).  I'll be sure to let you know later in the week which day the test is on.  As a reminder, here are the strategies that we have covered:

• The Area Model and Partial Products: (click the image for video)

• The Regrouping Method: (click the image for video)

Language Arts

Word Study

The words for the week can be found here!  The quiz will be on Friday.  Remember that the students are held accountable for the word throughout the week and if it is not completed by Friday, it is homework over the weekend.

Reading

This week we finish up our Greek mythology focus.  During the past few weeks we have read many stories of the Greek gods, specifically focusing on the personality traits of the characters.  This comes to an end through a class play of Pandora's Box that we will all be performing in a few weeks (stay tuned for invitations to be part of our audience!).

Writing

In addition to the play, we will be writing a constructed response; comparing two similar characters from Greek myths.

Have a great week!  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Make sure to follow us on Twitter at @misterholmes25 for updates on class activities!